I’ve safely gotten back to my home base, but amidst all the Garden business and the transit, I’ve come home to see that … I don’t know … NO ONE seems to want to win their way into this Tournament. I’ll have as much on this as I can tomorrow.

Worst loss? I think it has to be Baylor (though UMass’ may be the most damaging).

I’m going to go watch Stanford, gather all the scores and happenings, and come in fresh tomorrow.

It’ll be hard for me to give any honest analysis, so I’ll just give you some quick quips on games of relative consequence.Big East wrap-up post is below this one, just so ya know.

Atlantic 10 first round:
No. 8 Dayton 63, No. 9 Saint Louis 62 (OT). Close play has to put Dayton outside looking in right now. Do they just spare themselves for one more game? (Next up: Xavier!)

No. 5 St. Joe’s 80, No. 12 Fordham 62. The A-10 is usually pretty wacky this time of year, so we’ll wait and see if St. Joe’s wins the whole thing (certainly possible).

Big East first round:
No. 8 Villanova 82, No. 9 Syracuse 63. Yeah, how about me using one of MY photos in the roundup? Nice for a change. A little tidbit from this one that you didn’t see: Donte Green was absolutely dogging his teammates when he was getting beat on defense. In a sense, claiming that they should be there to back him up in that 2-3 zone. Yeah, Donte, that may be … but you play on the base of that zone.

No. 5 West Virginia 58, No. 12 Providence 53. A good showing from Providence, who really had nothing to play for, but the ‘Eers escape with one. Another thing I saw from the sidelines that surely wasn’t broadcast on ESPN: Bob Huggins (in a loving way) was all over Da’Sean Butler (who led the team with nine rebounds) all game long. Interesting to see, because Huggins was truly trying to coach, but definitely riding the kid hard to the point where I’d look at Butler’s response, and he’d almost have this embarrassed look on his face.

No. 7 Pittsburgh 70, No. 10 Cincinnati 64. Cinci stayed in the game solely due to Deonta Vaughn, who scored 30 and was by far and away the best player on the floor.

No. 6 Marquette 67, No. 11 Seton Hall 54. I bounced out of the Garden before this one was over because it just really wasn’t worth it. The place was clearing out and everyone seemed spent.

Big Sky championship:
No. 1 Portland State 67, No. 2 Northern Arizona 51. First bid in Portland State’s history. Expect a 16 seed, so they’ll be ripe for the picking.

Northeast championship:
No. 4 Mount Saint Mary’s 68, No. 3 Sacred Heart 55. Yet another sacrificial lamb is brought to the festivities. The Mount gets their third NCAA chance in school history.
Pac-10 first round:
No. 9 California 84, No. 8 Washington 81. I’m totally open for a Cal run to the Pac-10 final to make things interesting.

No. 7 Arizona 87, No. 10 Oregon State 56. Let’s see ‘Zona beat Stanford tonight.

We’ll be carving a few more names into the Tournament tree over the next two days. So here’s where SportsCenter will be berating local affiliates for floor-storm footage. (We can only prey that Kenny George’s presence is matched up with some dwarf in the first round. How glorious that would be.)

I’ll keep you constantly updated whenever each team gets the official endorsement, but a heads up to when and where you can find the the conference title games:

»Big South: Saturday, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN2). No. 2 Winthrop vs. No. 1 UNC-Asheville.

»Ohio Valley: Saturday, 5 p.m. (ESPN2). Teams: TBD

»Atlantic Sun: Saturday, 7 p.m. (ESPN2). Teams: TBD

»Missouri Valley: Sunday, 2 p.m. (CBS). Teams: TBD

• California @ Southern California.

  • If the Bears win: It just keeps it a little more interesting.

  • If the Trojans win: Lock ‘em up.

• Arizona State @ Oregon.

  • If the Devils win: They’ll have a 19-10 record, a high-60’s RPI and an above .500 record in arguably the best conference in the country.

  • If the Quackers win: They’ll still need two more wins to get back in the picture.

• Xavier @ St. Joseph’s.

  • If the Muskies win: They all-but-eliminate Phil Martelli’s team’s chances at an at-large bid.

  • If the Hawks win: They get closer to UMass for second in the A-10 pecking order.

• Boston College @ Miami (FL).

  • If the Eagles win: Miami would dip below .500 in a conference that won’t get more than five bids (but could only get four).

  • If the ‘Canes win: They would be 21-8 and have won six of their past seven.

• Mississippi State @ Vanderbilt.

  • If the Bulldogs win: They’ll be 12-3 in conference and will have zero shot of being left out by the committee. Lock ‘em up.

  • If the Commies win: It will continue to hurt a 20-win team in MSU, who has beaten no one out of conference.

• Texas A&M @ Baylor.
  • If the Aggies win: They’d have to move in as a lock.
  • If the Bears win: They’ll be closer, but still will need a win in the Big XII tournament. A home loss to sketchy A&M would put them out in my book.
• Kentucky @ South Carolina.
  • If the ‘Cats win: Jeez, 11 conference wins would be hard to ignore. You see Kentucky, and you see a team that could run to the Sweet 16, or get bounced by 16 points in their first game.
  • If the ‘Cocks win: What a bigger game this is than you think—if Kentucky drops to 16-12 tonight, they’d have to make a run to the SEC title game, in my opinion, to get an at-large.

• UNLV @ New Mexico.
  • If the Rebels win: They are a lock and on pace for the 8/9 game.

  • If the Lobos win: They enter the better side of the bubble, while a loss would really diminish their chances, as they would be  swept by Vegas this year.

• Arkansas @ Mississippi.

  • If the Hogs win: They also have to be considered a lock, given the weakness of the other bubble teams.

  • If the Rebs win: What a scenario that would be. You’d have to give Ole Miss the edge over Arkansas with a win. Very intriguing game here tonight.

• Wake Forest @ Virginia Tech.

  • If the Deacons win: They entertain us again, but probably don’t have a shot.

  • If the Hokies win: They’ll bump past teams like Syracuse on the at-large bubble. This is essentially an elimination game, though.

• Pittsburgh @ West Virginia.
  • If the Panthers win: I’ve already got them in, but I’ll say it’d make them a 6 seed right now.
  • If the ‘Eers win: West Virginia would leapfrog a team like Kentucky if they were to beat Pitt tonight. The win isn’t a lot of insurance, but the short-term effect will be enough to put them on the better side of the bubble on Tuesday.
• Saint Mary’s @ Portland.
  • If the Gaels win: They’ll be meeting their quota.
  • If the Pilots win: Saint Mary’s will be dovetailing towards the NIT.
• Santa Clara @ Gonzaga.
  • If the Broncos win: That’d be damaging for the Zags. Essentially negating their win against Saint Mary’s over the weekend.
  • If the Bulldogs win: They’re definitely a lock.

• USC @ Arizona.

  • If the Trojans win: They’re locked up for seeding for The Dance.

  • If the ‘Cats win: They’re locked up for seeding for The Dance.

• Maryland @ Wake Forest.

  • If the Turtles win: They prove that they’re not such a fraud and continue to remain relevant.

  • If the Deacs win: They leapfrog the Terps and are the No. 4 team on the ACC totem pole.

• Washington State @ Cal.
  • If the Cougs win: The avoid being seeded anything worse than a 5 for March.

  • If the Bears win: They keep their head above water. It’s going to take more than just this to get back into the good grace of the selection committee.

Here’s a new segment that I’m going to put out just about every day until the conference tournaments begin, just so you really know what’s at stake each night. Of course, there are so many bubble teams still out there, that I’ll just put up as many as four games a day. Don’t worry: Everyone will be spotlighted over the course of a week.

Yes: I had to go with Judd to grab your attention.

• Miami (FL) @ Clemson.

  • If the ‘Canes win: You’ll have Miami at 7-6 in the ACC with a 20-7 overall record. That means good side of the bub.

  • If the Tiggers win: They’re a lock for The Tournament.

• Mississippi @ Kentucky.

  • If the Rebs win: They settle themselves, but still have work to do.

  • If Kentucky wins: They will become the albatross of the selection committee and have the edge on Ole Miss for selection.

• Rhode Island @ George Washington.
  • If the Rams win: They breathe.

  • If the Colonials win: Rhode Island would need an A-10 tournament title for a bid.

• UAB @ UTEP.

  • If the Blazers win: They have to keep doing it.

  • If the Minors win: UAB’s at-large chances are puh-poof.

No, Bruce, Erin Andrews isn’t hiding over there.

Hey, remember when Florida received their first No. 1 ranking in the history of the program about five years ago, only to play on Super Tuesday on ESPN the following night and get romped by Kentucky? This wasn’t exactly like that, but it was close.

Vanderbilt dispatched of the Vols 72-69 last night on that ridiculous Opera House floor that could almost hold two basketball games at the same time. Vanderbilt looked ready, Tennessee looked arrogant and lost on offense. The game was only a three-point win for the Commies, but it should have been of the 10-14 point variety. (Vanderbilt did their darndest to keep it close against the hated Orange.)

I wanted to say this following the Memphis win, but last night’s performance affirmed my suspicions. I’m here to say: DON’T BUY INTO TENNESSEE.

Let’s examine: They eek out a win against Memphis, then fall to Vanderbilt. Sure, going 1-1 in road games against two teams with a combined record of 50-5 can be considered par for the course, but what was the common denominator in those two games? Extremely helter-skelter play and terrible shot selection from Tennessee. They just happened to play two teams that love to get a little chaotic in their offensive play, effectively playing into UT’s hands.

But everyone knows: Half-court style wins in March. Last night was certainly anything but.

How can you trust this kind of team? Bad shot selection + shoddy rebounding + too much reliance on a lesser-than-advertised shooter (Lofton) = early Tournament exit. Tennessee shot an inspiring 33 percent from the floor and went 7-for-26 from behind the 3 in last night’s game.

Plus, you get the sense that Bruce Pearl might be coaching a bit over his skis at this point and is due for another nice, humbling loss. (Remember their second-round loss to Wichita State as a 2 seed in 2006?)

As it is, I don’t take readers of CHJ lightly, so I know you aren’t really fooled by the kaleidoscope that can be the weekly polls, but Tennessee is assured at least a 2 seed and you musn’t fall prey to that coveted high number they’ll be placed next to. This team is simply not Final Four material. Elite 8? Possibly, but they are prime meat for any competent, half-court team (think Drake, Kent State, Purdue) to pick off.